Following a nearly two-year investigation that began as Dewey & LeBoeuf spiraled toward death, its former chairman, Steven Davis; its former executive director, Stephen DiCarmine; and its ex-chief financial officer, Joel Sanders, were accused Thursday of "concocting and overseeing a massive effort to cook the books" at the firm.

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What's being said

The American legal profession has suffered terribly in the court of public opinion for many years. This is especially true with the larger law firms. Like bankers, lawyers were once looked up to in the community. Now many see us in a different and unflattering light.

Many law firms have failed in recent years because of greed, mismanagement and often, simply not able to keep pace with the changing demands of the marketplace. If the allegations against these former Dewey & LeBouef leaders are correct, we can add common law theft and deception to the mix.

I predict we will soon see both a rise in virtual firms made up of former "BigLaw" refugees.

As a former employee that joined the firm of Dewey, Ballantine, Bushby, Palmer & Wood in 1986, reading this article brought tears to my eyes a little. I was still employed with the firm when it merged with LeBouef (laid off in March, 2009) and witnessed a little bit of the greed mentioned in this article, but never thought it would bring the firm to its end. Dewey Ballantine was not just a great firm to work with, my co-workers were like family to me. I trust those who were still in the employ with the firm at the time it collapsed has found employment elsewhere.